The disclosures herein relate generally to super-coolable compositions and more particularly to a super-coolable composition having long-duration phase change capability, a process for preparation of such super-coolable composition, a process of super-cooling such super-coolable composition and articles comprising such super-coolable composition.
In many situations, it is desirable, if not necessary, to maintain an item such as a donor organ for a transplant, a food item or a biological specimen in a particular thermal condition. Examples of thermal conditions include being maintained at a prescribed temperature, within a prescribed temperature range or below a prescribed temperature. Failure to maintain the item in the particular thermal condition may adversely affect the viability, freshness and/or usefulness of the item.
Conventional insulated containers include provisions for maintaining an item contained therein in a particular thermal condition. Passive-type-insulated containers include insulating material for reducing the rate of heat transfer between contents therein and an ambient environment. Other than such insulating material, no other means is provided for maintaining an item contained therein in a particular thermal condition. Active-type-insulated containers include insulating material and a climate preservation implement. The climate preservation implement is capable of actively maintaining a volume of the container at a particular thermal condition. Powered cooling devices and conventional thermal masses (e.g. freezable cold packs) are examples of climate preservation implements.
Conventional insulated containers suffer from several limitations that impair their ability to maintain a contained item at a particular thermal condition for an extended period of time and to achieve/sustain extreme thermal conditions. Examples of such limitations include a limited time duration that conventional thermal masses can maintain a frozen/chilled state, the degree of super-cooling achievable by conventional thermal masses, the limited time a portable power supply can sustain the operation of a powered cooling device and the operating efficiency, weight and space associated with such powered cooling device. These limitations reduce the effectiveness and versatility of conventional insulated containers and/or conventional thermal masses.
Therefore, a super-coolable composition having long-duration phase change capability, a process for preparation of such super-coolable composition, a process of super-cooling such super-coolable composition and articles comprising such super-coolable composition that overcome these limitations, individually and/or jointly, are useful.